Like a moth drawn to the light, I‘m wooed to beautiful, old things. It pleases me to hold an aged vase and watch sunlight enhance its beauty. Even a chipped item seems more interesting because I wonder, what’s the story of its chipping? Vintage pieces all have stories to tell, some gladsome, others tragic. I’ll admit to treating them like treasures, not wanting to part with my very few. However, due to necessity, I’ve been paring down my lovelies little by little. What’s in the drawers is seen by no one but me—and what’s on the shelves requires dusting more often than I can conjure up anymore. And my stuff isn’t valuable anyway, I just like it a bunch.

I thought that I’d never, ever part with the lovely lace and crocheted-trimmed handkerchiefs that slept for sixty-five years in my lingerie drawer. However, recently when our church school held a fundraising sale of “old treasures,” I decided someone, who collects these delicate pieces of cloth, might be willing to pay money the school can use better. And some knick-knacks from fifty and more years ago went to the sale, too, along with an assortment of old cook books. People loved them!

I think if the sale hadn’t been labeled as a treasure sale that I might not have decided to part with them yet—but the word treasures spoke to me. I knew it was time. Because I got to thinking about the Bible admonition, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). Even though my items aren’t valuable, I’d made selfish treasures of them.

New Focus, New Stories

However, I now realize it’s the stories that I as a writer really care about more than objects. Because to tell you the truth I don’t miss any of the things that I’ve parted with—but if I could write the story of each of the things—that would be intriguing. Thus, as I thought about parting with the objects, I realized that my new focus will be not on the collecting and stashing away, but on writing new stories that are worth telling about the old.

And what better story telling than that of the stewardship of the homemaker’s search and finding her lost coins (maybe even collector’s coins?) or the widow’s mite offering—or best of all of the God-Man who died for my sins, Jesus!

Yes, contemplating on treasures and things, brought me into focus about what’s really important. I’ve decided that the talent God has given me is one of my treasures and that the things I surrounded myself with are just that—things.